Recalling lessons learned from corporal punishment

By Otis Gardner

Published: Saturday, August 9, 2014 at 07:28 AM.

Recently a newspaper story said our county school system was ceasing use of corporal punishment as a behavioral “modifier” tool. My personal knowledge of the subject comes from what I’ve gathered through personal life experiences.

Most animals playing active roles in raising offspring chastise their young if they stray too far from safe boundaries. Such punishments are clearly proven teaching methods in the natural world.

Spanking was around in my natural world when I grew up. However, don’t think for a second my parents spanked me all that frequently and with any enjoyment. They surely didn’t.

They did the best they could to instill within me that taking personal responsibility for one’s actions was necessary and important. To that end, consequences for transgressions came quickly. I must’ve learned because I never got spanked for the same thing twice.

Looking back over my 73 years I wasn’t the least bit harmed by those brief blends of small discomfort and bigger embarrassment. Behavioral limitations placed on me by my parents were more fort than prison.

Against many growing up hazards they gave shelter. Parameters confined me inside acceptable ranges and within that cocoon I slept very, very well.

Schools played an important part molding behaviors and often their tool of choice was playfully called the “board of education.” Yep I was paddled in schools, but always for excellent reasons.

Recently a newspaper story said our county school system was ceasing use of corporal punishment as a behavioral “modifier” tool. My personal knowledge of the subject comes from what I’ve gathered through personal life experiences.

Most animals playing active roles in raising offspring chastise their young if they stray too far from safe boundaries. Such punishments are clearly proven teaching methods in the natural world.

Spanking was around in my natural world when I grew up. However, don’t think for a second my parents spanked me all that frequently and with any enjoyment. They surely didn’t.

They did the best they could to instill within me that taking personal responsibility for one’s actions was necessary and important. To that end, consequences for transgressions came quickly. I must’ve learned because I never got spanked for the same thing twice.

Looking back over my 73 years I wasn’t the least bit harmed by those brief blends of small discomfort and bigger embarrassment. Behavioral limitations placed on me by my parents were more fort than prison.

Against many growing up hazards they gave shelter. Parameters confined me inside acceptable ranges and within that cocoon I slept very, very well.

Schools played an important part molding behaviors and often their tool of choice was playfully called the “board of education.” Yep I was paddled in schools, but always for excellent reasons.

My first “official” board meeting was in Hawaii. My fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Wakayama, hauled me on a much deserved trip to the principal’s office.

He told me to lean over his desk for what I assumed would be a tap or two. Holy home run! He must’ve been related to Mickey Mantle because that principal had a powerful swing.

Through the years I attended more board meetings. Those get-togethers were arranged by teachers, principals and twice by school bus drivers.

I benefited from the learning process. But now it’s a different world, so perhaps time for such punishments to fade away. Parents, schools and governments have lost the most important and necessary ingredient needed to make any punishments effective: credibility.

It’s gone and probably not coming back. My parents didn’t have to spank me much simply because I knew they would. The same is true of teachers and school officials. Their words had meaning; you could believe what they said.

Being credible is the No. 1 deterrent against bad behaviors. That applies to parents, teachers and even our government. Nowadays words and threats have become virtually meaningless consonant sounds and vowel noises.

We could all take a lesson from Chief Ten Bears and put iron in our words, but that’s not going to happen in education. We’ve decided it best to allow kids to grow haphazardly like weeds rather than make the effort to “raise” them.

Schools have moved away from common sense, rewarding cluelessness with meaningless diplomas and punishing teachers who teach with force. We should probably move corporal punishments out of classrooms and into school board and union meetings where it might help.

Some administrators would benefit from “corporal” stripes on their well-dressed butts.

Otis Gardner’s column appears here weekly. He can be reached at ogardner@embarqmail.com.